Marketing - Day 5 - Learn a New Marketing Language

In 1960, Jerome E. McCarthy came up with a revolutionary way to break up the elements of marketing -- the Four P's. He said that if you can establish these four things as you introduce and maintain the marketing of something, you'll be successful:  Product, Price, Placement, Promotion. Marketing classes repeat the Four Ps over and over and over -- I did it myself a week ago...

After I presented my class last Saturday, I began to ask myself "Do the Four Ps still play today?"  I think in the 20th Century marketplace with a product-oriented philosophy where you had to pound your message over a prospect's head over and over, yes.  In the real world of today, not so much. The 21st Century marketplace has given the consumer power -- power to demand quality, value, a great product experience, ease of purchase and acquisition. 

Let's get microscopic and look at today's consumer:

Is the Product still important?  Today, I believe that the Experience the customer has with your product is the only message prospective buyers care about.  You can talk all you want about the product itself, but prospective consumers are going to focus on what it does for them. Period.  

Is the Price still important?  If you look purely at Price as a critical piece of marketing, you are looking at it only from one direction. I believe Value is more important -- and that is a two-way transaction. Does your customer believe that they gained something that is commensurate with the price you are charging?  On the other hand, does the amount it costs to make the product leave you with enough of a margin when you set your price?  Consider the middlemen too.  Do they bring value to your customer by getting the product where it is supposed to be without charging so much that it is impossible to make a profit?

Is Placement still important? Not so much anymore. Why?  Because you have to be Everywhere your customer might be looking.  Does that mean Everywhere Everywhere?  No. It means you have to be where your buyer is when they want to take out the $20 to buy your book.  Study the habits of your consumer and make sure your book is available in the places that make sense -- and that doesn't mean bookstores only. People buy books in all sorts of places -- retail stores, online, through groups and associations, at events, directly from you. 

Is Promotion still important? Seth Godin has recoined this element as building a "Tribe." David Ogilvy calls it product Evangelism. Promotion in its purest description is an offer, delivered creatively, delivered often enough to catch the attention of the buyer, with enough of an offer to persuade the buyer to purchase. Today, it's more important to Engage your customer in an emotional experience that delivers greater value than another company's experience delivers. 

Let your consumer be part of your marketing. Bring them into the pages of your story. Make your book easy to find and buy. Bring them value for their money. See, marketing is easy.  

The Four "P"s of Book Marketing, (and then some...)

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a presentation where the speaker asked the group of small business owners: "What are the four Ps of marketing?" As usually happens when a crowd is asked a question, no hands went up. So the speaker pushed again. "What are the four Ps of marketing?" A young woman timidly raised her hand and said "uh, product, presentation, uh, ummmm, people and persistence?"  To that the speaker said "No. Anyone else wanna try?"  I watched as another victim raised his hand and said "Product, profit, packaging and plan."

Again, the speaker said "Uh. No. Anyone else?" Finally, someone gave him the answer he wanted, "Product, place, price and promotion." However, he was wrong to even hint that the other words are not important to marketing. I believe there are a dozen critical words in marketing (for books in particular). We'll start with the ones most people are familiar with, and then move to the others in the next post.

Product: Does your book fill a need? Does it look like it fits in the category? Is it high quality? Is it in the proper format? Are you buying the manufacturing at the right place?

Place: This term is often replaced with the word "Position", but I'm keeping those separate -- you'll see why later. In my world, place means distribution. Is your book where people can find it when they are ready to plunk down the $20? Can you make money in the distribution outlets you have selected?

Price: Does your book reflect what the market will bear for this type of book? Have you done your research to see if there is a correlation between price and sales? Have you considered your costs? If you are using any type of collaborative publisher, don't let them push you into a price that is too high for the market. Be realistic and do your due diligence.

Promotion: Ah, this is where most people focus their time, energy and financial resources. This is advertising -- this is something you should be able to measure and quantify, and everyone thinks they can, but it's only part of the mix. This is getting your name out there. If you think you are ready to publish and you have not begun promoting your book, start today. (If you are still reading this...go now. Start NOW.)

Next post will cover some other Ps:  

Position, people, persistence, patience, presentation, profit, plan and publicity.